With Kipling at the former Crawford Market

Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, sculpted the amazing fountain located right in the middle of Crawford Market, renamed today Jyotiba Phule Market.

A visit to Mumbai is incomplete without plunging into the special atmosphere of the city markets. Because they are often crowded, it is best to get there early in the morning.

The Crawford Market, dedicated to fruits, vegetables, and poultry is housed in a 19th-century colonial building, designed by architect William Emerson. Since renamed Jyotiba Phule Market, it is about 800 metres north of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Children will enjoy the part of these halls reserved for live animals, where one may buy mongooses, monkeys, parrots, pigeons, and even cats and dogs. In the middle of the enclosure, there is an amazing fountain sculpted by Rudyard Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling, who also painted the friezes on the outside of the market. He was a professor at the Jeejeebhoy School of Art and Industry in Bombay. Rudyard Kipling, who was often considered a prophet of British imperialism, was born in Mumbai on December 30, 1865.